Teaching Kids A Valuable Skill

Lifeguard Shares Love Of Water

LEESBURG -- "Simon says: `Big circles forward,' " the lifeguard said. The two youngsters sitting on the edge of the pool complied.

"Simon says: `Big circles backward.' "

They do it again.

Once in the pool, the children practiced the "big circles" and swam the freestyle and backstrokes by pushing off the side of the wall to lifeguards.

Tyler Waddell, 3, held on to the side of the pool and said, "I want to do it again."

Darcey Waddell, Tyler's mother, said this is the first time her son has taken lessons.

"He's progressing well," she said. "He gets all excited in there."

Sarah Wright, 21, head lifeguard at Venetian Gardens Pool, who has been a lifeguard for five years, said teaching preschoolers how to swim is one of her favorite parts of the job.

"I love the little ones," she said. "You get to see them grow older and become better swimmers through the years."

To become a lifeguard, Wright took a course through the American Red Cross. The course consisted of 27 hours of classroom and pool-rescue work. After the course, she became a certified lifeguard trainer.

She also took a first-aid course and a professional-rescue cardiopulmonary resuscitation course, which consisted of infant, child and adult, and one- and two-person CPR. Lifeguards must keep their certification current.

Wright, who is a certified water-safety instructor as well, starts her day at 9:15 a.m. After lessons, she takes time for lunch and then heads to H.O. Dabney Pool, where she is the head lifeguard, and does "chair duty," watching from her perch.

Groups of up to 50 youngsters come from day-care centers and the community for open swim at Dabney throughout the summer.

At 6 p.m., Wright heads back to Venetian Gardens Pool to teach lessons.

"It's really a great job," she said. "We have a lot of fun."

Wright's mother, Gay Nell Wright of Wildwood, isn't surprised by her daughter's profession. She said her daughter learned how to swim in the family pool when she was 5.

"I'm glad she has found something she really enjoys doing and makes her happy," she said.

Rene James, Venetian Gardens Pool manager, said that this year, the city-owned pools will be open year-round.